DECOMPOSITION PATTERNS OF SURFACE LEAF LITTER OF 6 PLANT-SPECIES ALONG A CHIHUAHUAN DESERT WATERSHED

Mass losses from creosote bush Larrea tridentata leaf litter did not follow the moisture-organic matter gradient present in the watershed. Mass losses were higher at mid-slope run-on areas than in upper-slope erosional sites and the dry lake basin. Mass losses were highest where subterranean termite activity was the highest. There were differences between losses from the litter of the site-dominant and creosote bush leaf litter in some instances, but these differences were not attributable to differences in lignin content nor C:N ratio. Mass losses of litter of site-dominant species were not always higher than that of creosote bush leaf litter in the same site. Mass losses were best described by the double exponential model. -from Authors